Monday, July 13, 2015

Recap: Lakers 68, 76ers 60

In a feature matchup between two of this year's top three NBA draft picks, both Jahlil Okafor and D'Angelo Russell reminded the basketball world on Saturday just why they were selected so high.

Okafor, picked third, finished with game-highs of 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for the 76ers. Saturday was just the latest in a series of encouraging games for the 19-year-old rookie center, which include an 18-point, 10-rebound NBA debut on July 6 and a 13-point, nine-rebound outing on July 7.

After an underwhelming NBA debut with only eight points and seven turnovers for the Lakers on Friday, Russell had 14 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds and three assists on Saturday. The second overall pick also shot 6-for-9 from the free throw line.

Second-year Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson was equally, if not more impressive, than his rookie teammate Saturday. The 23-year-old had 19 points on 8-for-16 field goal shooting and four rebounds. Clarkson, who played a game high 34 minutes, also lead all players in the Summer League's newly-implemented "Hustle Stats."

The game featured 11 lead changes and was hotly contested through its final minutes.

Trailing by four with just over 10 seconds left, Pierre Jackson, who had 15 points on 5-for-11 field goal shooting for the 76ers, launched a 25-foot 3-pointer off the backboard.

Russell grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and hit two free throws to effectively put the nail in the coffin.

After playing two consecutive nights, Los Angeles (1-1) has Sunday off before returning to action against the New York Knicks on Monday at 8 p.m. ET. Philadelphia (0-1) faces the Boston Celtics Sunday at 10:30 p.m. ET.